Any suggestions?

[sensei]

Hey all,

I'm looking to get a little better amp. Right now I have a Marshall G10. Crank the gain and it's got a half way decent metal tone, but I've never been able to find anything close to a good clean/bluesy tone.

Since "student" amp go for around $65-$85 bucks, can I get something noticeably better for $100-120?

Thanks for any opinions...

[Tibernius]

Valve Jr?

Don't know how much they are in the US, but they're about £80 here.

[sensei]

With the valve jr, do you also need speakers? I was also thing about the roland micro cube or line 6 spider.

[Tibernius]

With the valve jr, do you also need speakers?

There's two versions. One is the Combo, which has a speaker built in. The other is the Head version, which needs a separate speaker.

[Spudman]

Check out Robert's videos on Dolphin Street where he uses the Vox amp. You might like them. They seem to offer great performance for the price.

[sensei]

I'll check them out this evening...thanks...

[Duff]

The vox da5 is an awesome practice amp with lots of effects; three blues amp effects, three crunch amp effects, overdrive amp, tweed amp, two clean amps.

An assortment of good effects incldg; autowah, reverb, tremolo, flanger, etc., editable in three parameters. It has a small speaker but is LOUD.

It switches from .5 to 1.5 to 5 watts but is more powerful than any solid state 5 watt amp I'v played.

Plus you can put six C cell batteries in it and take it to the park, trolling.

It also has a mic input with volume control.

This is an awesome amp that is really neat and costs 129 US +/-.

The Valve Jr. head is awesome for 129 or so and the cabinet fr Epiphone also is about the same price with a 1 by 12 Emminence speaker in it and it sounds really good. I think you can buy the half stack Epiphone Valve Jr. for about 250 US. It is a tube amp at 5 tube watts which is roughly equivalent to 15 solid state watts but is VERY loud with the 16 ohm matching cabinet that comes with the half stack. It is also highly modable and has a strong cult following of serious belivers. it has one control knob.

I also have a Blackheart Little Giant head that is switchable between 3 and 5 tube watts and I play it thru the Epiphone cabinet. It has a three band equalizer and volume knob and is really classy looking and is supposed to be the closest thing to a boutique quality amp of this size that you can get without actually getting a boutique amp. It costs around the same price at MF as the Epi Valve Jr.

I bought a Crate Flexwave 15R for 99 US about a year ago and it has a 12 inch speaker and sounds really good clean, has a three band eq and drive knob and vol knob and reverb, no other effects. Sounds really clean on the clean channel, two channels. This is an excellent value amp.

Also at audioallies.com, no affiliation, they sell a great Behringer amp, believe it, a GM110 for 98 US. Maybe they ship to you. This has analog amp modelling and analog cabinet modelling and effects, a DI out for going to a mixing board or PA and a host of other neat features plus a ten inch Bugera speaker and puts out some serious tone all the way from clean to overdriven and it is a highly rated amp on harmonycentral.com. A lot of people like this 30 watt solid state amp and find it very dependable, unlike some Behringer items. This is a great value amp. Built solid.

But the Vox DA5 is incredible for what it is. You won't get up to a drummer with it like you will a Behringer GM110, but you will have tone city and effects city and fun. Plus it has the "chrome" metal speaker grate, expanded metal look, that really protects the speaker from being damaged. It is a little amp that sounds big and has a very big following of very happy users. 129 US and where you are it is probably readily available. Everything from super clean to heavy metal. Plus battery power. AC pwr or bat pwr.

There are some great amps options out there. I heard that little marshall you have is a nice little amp, but I had a marshall Valvestate 2, 30 watt that was really nice, Eric Clapton used one, but it didn't have a great clean channel at all.

I hope these ideas help you. Don't discount that DA5 because of the small speaker. It is a great little amp.

Also, think about the Vox Pathfinder 15R, about 129 US. This is one channel though and very neat. You might find some useable clean values on the volume knob and it has a very vintage style tremolo like the AC15, speed and intensitiy controls plus an eq section and reverb. But not the variety of sounds you get from a DA5. Both of these are completely solid state as well.

Any of the above amps sound great and you can get some great clean tones out of them and bluesy tones. That 30 watt Behringer might be the best deal for the money if they ship to you reasonably, check them out. That amp sounds great and loud clean.

The DA5 lets you dial in heavy overdrive and then switch it to 0.5 watts and it retains the driven tone of the 5 watt setting at a much reduced volume for bedroom playing, which of course can come in handy. None of these other amps above have this ability to switch down the power.

Hope it helps,

Duffy
Winfield, Pa

[sensei]

I appreciate all the input. I guess now I better find some cash, and find out what store around here have these amps so I can plug in and make a decision.

[Tibernius]

It is a tube amp at 5 tube watts which is roughly equivalent to 15 solid state watts but is VERY loud with the 16 ohm matching cabinet that comes with the half stack.


I bought a Harley-Benton GA5 (rebranded Valve Jr Combo) and it's louder than the old 25 watt Yamaha solid-state amp I've got. I can't play it at more than about 1/3 volume.

[Duff]

What's up with your search?

There are some great amps out there for 100 US. Did you check out audioallies.com for the GM110. Check out harmonycentral.com and look under user reviews of Behringer amps. Very well rated.

Those Vox'es should be available in your area with no problem. The DA5 WILL blow your mind. Esp. the portability; take it to the park, round up some babes, etc. The GM110 will hold up to a fairly loud drummer, acoustic drummer that is and have him telling you to turn down. Good bang for the buck.

People say "analog" modelling is preferred to digital modelling in some circles. The GM110 is analog. Has a DI out for hooking directly into a PA or mixing board; I think it stands for Direct Input (DI) and is an XLR jack like a mic.

Quality amp, surprisingly. I think it is discontinued and you have to get it from places like audioallies.com because the new one is different with digital modelling and a digital readout for patches and things like that but without a DI box built in. The old one seems like a superior model, if you can find one. 98 US at the site above, no affilliation.

Keep us posted with your quest.

Duffy

[F_BSurfer]

I agree check out the Behringer amps don't think you can get the GM110 for the $59 its the GMX108 now for the $59 and the GMX110 is $149
http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHGM108
http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHGMX110

[Duff]

The GM110, mentioned above by me, is available at audioallies for 99.99 US, as I indicated. Go to their website and type in GM110 in the search box or go to musical instruments.

Here is the link I got just now:

http://audioallies.com/GetItem.asp?Item=GM110

Paste it into IE address bar.

I should get another one before they are gone. This is not a GM108. Totally different item.

Duff

The new models mentioned above are not the same design and contain many significant differences.